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OTTAWA - A digital petition once famously forced the White House to provide official comment on an oddball suggestion for stimulating the U.S. economy: building a heavily armed intergalactic space station...

Photograph by: Benoit Desjardins
, For Postmedia News

The space race may have been between the Soviet Union and the United States, but behind this very public battle, the aerospace industry in Canada quietly built steam. Today, it is the world's fifth-largest aerospace industry, generating more than $22 billion annually and employing approximately 80,000 Canadians.

The sector produces aerospace technology that is most often exported, making it essential for trade while accounting for roughly 6.9 per cent of Canada's total manufacturing GDP.

Given its role in the Canadian economy, the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada (AIAC) and its members are applauding the recently announced Aerospace Review by the Canadian government, a process aimed at developing a federal policy framework to maximize the competitiveness of Canada's aerospace industry.

The review, which was announced on Feb. 27, will explore how government, industry and other stakeholders can address the issues facing the aerospace and space sectors, such as innovation, skills development, procurement and supplier development.

David L. Emerson, a former federal cabinet minister, was named head of the aerospace review and will work with a three-person advisory council and members of the AIAC to formulate a report due toward the end of 2012.

"The AIAC will play a very active role in the review process through the creation of six working groups," said Maryse Harvey, vicepresident of public affairs at AIAC.

The six working groups will each have their own themes. Namely technology development, space industry policy review, market access and development, aerospacerelated public procurement, management of human capital and small business and supply-chain issues.

"To compete globally, our industry needs the right government policies and programs to take advantage of outstanding opportunities for growth in the future," said David Schellenberg, chairman of the AIAC board of directors. "A competitive Canadian aerospace industry will result in more high-skilled jobs and other benefits to the Canadian economy."

Ultimately, the review will examine the long-term goals of the Canadian aerospace and space sectors. It will also include the recent and anticipated trends in the global and domestic aerospace and space sectors and how these trends could impact the Canadian industry. Additionally, the review will cover the key opportunities and major challenges for the Canadian industry.

"It's going to be all-encompassing," Harvey said, "a state of the industry report that will help solidify Canada's place in the global industry."

It is expected that the working groups will finish their mandate within the next six months. After that, the review head and advisory council will begin formulating their review.

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Attention, cross-border gas shoppers: Washington state is moving ahead with plans to raise its fuel tax. The state senate has endorsed a bill that would incrementally raise the state fuel surcharge by a total of 11.7 cents a gallon by 2017.